I had the "12V battery problem" as well, which did require service. (I have a P85+.) I also had a more involved problem with the main battery which actually required them to swap the whole thing out for a temporary one, ship the original back to Fremont, and 1-2 months later I got my original battery swapped back in. (I got Tesla loaners both times it was in the shop for the swap.)
I wasn't buzzkilled at all; I did kind of sign up for some growing pains with an all-new technology. And Tesla service has been courteous as heck. And the car is still WONDERFUL to drive, so...
> I did kind of sign up for some growing pains with an all-new technology.
I don't really subscribe to this line of thinking with a piece of equipment that is so expensive.
That being said, I'm a car nut. I've gone through more than my share of vehicles over the years and the percentage that have been problem free straight out of the dealership is pretty low. I had a 5-series that my wife got to drive for a day before it sat in our garage for 6 weeks. I was quite perturbed. I had a mercedes that was in and out of the dealership for a few months right out of the gate, but their dealership was the friendliest and most helpful that I've dealt with. I had a mustang that I left service with at one point with no brakes. Imagine being a block from the dealership and figuring that out. I had a Navigator that I spent three months complaining about before the manufacturer admitted they had a problem and put out a kit to fix. Up until then the dealer laid blame 100% on the fact that I had aftermarket wheels put on it.
It's not new technology. It's that the nature of the car business is such that they put them together with best-effort and there isn't a lot that is done from an individual quality-control perspective before they reach customers. Dealer fix-it shops keep themselves busy and full of employees by fixing warranty issues. The danger of doing it differently is that dealers would be short manpower and repair parts would be crazy expensive if cars never had any problems. It's cheap to fix a 12 year old F150 because so many people know how to fix them.
Personally, I'd love to get a Tesla. From all I've heard they have great customer service and work hard to make sure solutions are complete. I don't expect perfection. The only thing that drives me crazy is getting the runaround when problems are unusual.
I've gone through more than my share of vehicles over the years and the percentage that have been problem free straight out of the dealership is pretty low.
That's disappointing, only because as I go through my mental list of cars purchased new, I can't think of any major problems out of any of them. '82 Honda Accord: it never saw a dealer again after I drove it off the lot. 90-sumtin' Geo Prizm: problem-free. 2005 Scion xB: took it back for some rattles. 2010 Nissan Leaf: haven't done a damned thing to it other than change the crappy OEM tires.
Though comparing my list to yours: maybe you should buy less expensive cars. :-) The only new vehicle I've owned that had actual broken stuff to fix under warranty: 2014 BMW motorcycle, which has been back to the dealer more times than all of my other new vehicles combined (granted, that's only three times, and it has never left me stranded). Honda motorcycles: not a one ever saw a dealer's lot post-sale.
I wasn't buzzkilled at all; I did kind of sign up for some growing pains with an all-new technology. And Tesla service has been courteous as heck. And the car is still WONDERFUL to drive, so...